How we make money
No dark patterns, no buried disclosures. Here is exactly how DelayPayer pays for itself — and the lines we won't cross to do it.
Last updated June 2026
The short version
DelayPayer is free to use and reader-supported. Our checker, calculators, and claim-letter generator cost you nothing and ask for no personal data. We make money in one way: if you decide to hand a claim to a no-win-no-fee claims firm through one of our links, that firm pays us a referral commission when your claim succeeds. You pay nothing extra — the firm's fee is the same whether you arrive through us or not.
What that money does and doesn't change
- It doesn't change our checker. Whether you're owed money, and how much, is a matter of regulation and the distance of your flight. No partner can touch the verdict or the figure you see.
- It doesn't buy a recommendation. We don't tell you to use a firm when you can easily claim yourself — in fact we lead with "do it yourself for free and keep 100%". We only suggest a firm for the cases where one genuinely helps.
- It does keep the lights on so the tools and guides stay free, with no paywall and no account required.
Our promises
- We disclose paid links clearly — right next to the recommendation, not hidden in a footer nobody reads (FTC 16 CFR Part 255).
- We tell you when you can claim yourself for free and keep the whole payout — even though that earns us nothing.
- We never file claims, take a power of attorney, or collect your personal data. We're paid by referrals, never by selling your information.
- We only point you to no-win-no-fee firms, so you never risk money up front on a referral from us.
Why this model
Referral commissions let us help the huge majority of travellers who'll never pay us a cent — the ones we tell to claim themselves — and still keep the work sustainable. The alternatives are worse: a paywall locks out the people who most need a clear answer, and the industry norm of a fake "checker" that only exists to sell a contract is exactly what we set out to replace. Done honestly, "we earn only when handing off a hard claim genuinely helps you" keeps our incentives pointed the right way.
Questions?
If anything here is unclear, ask: info@delaypayer.com.